– President Barack Obama, December 31, 2012
The anti-human trafficking field has provided services to victims of human trafficking through various strategies and delivery methods for more than a decade, making great strides in assisting victims to make improvements in their lives, however there remains a lack of evidence-based research available to inform federal, state, local, and NGO service provision.33 It is now time to reflect on lessons learned and to begin the process of moving from
the use of promising practices to developing evidence-based approaches.
Gaps in research regarding the effectiveness of service delivery strategies must be addressed through the establishment of baseline data and rigorous study of those approaches and outcomes. From here, best practices can be identified, scaled, and implemented. Sustained efforts over the next 5 years are intended to narrow this evidence gap.
Additional suggestions and initiatives from stakeholders will provide guidance in developing evidence-based practices for victim services. Public feedback on additional ways to measure program effectiveness, promote trauma-informed care, and provide services that help survivors in their long-term recovery process are welcome.
Objective 9: Identify promising practices in responding to the needs of human trafficking victims
through the evaluation of procedures, tools, programs, and policies
EVALUATE SCREENING AND TRAINING TOOLS
Government agencies and private organizations have developed a wealth of materials and resources to address human trafficking. Federal agencies will work to coordinate efforts and resources to formally evaluate the
effectiveness of these materials.
NIJ will publish a client screening tool and user guide that were tested and evaluated by the Vera Institute of Justice to improve victim identification across diverse populations for use by victim service providers. OVC will provide the electronically published NIJ screening tool to all trafficking victim assistance grantees and the field.
HHS will leverage the work of NIJ to identify targeted screening tools for human trafficking for specific use within medical and health systems (including community clinics and emergency rooms), child welfare systems, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, human services programs, and other systems likely to encounter potential victims.
ACF will explore ways to leverage existing resources and performance metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of training curricula for stakeholders in the child welfare and runaway homeless youth systems.
IDENTIFY AND PROMOTE PROMISING PRACTICES
While services were developed over the course of more than a decade, the field only recently matured to a place where promising practices can be identified. As an immediate first step, federal agencies will identify promising practices that show evidence of effectiveness. There must be long-term impact studies planned to reinforce these designations.
ACF will release guidance for the child welfare and runaway and homeless youth systems on
understanding the trends of placement type, runaway patterns, and assessment and service delivery upon the return of such individuals. The guidance builds upon existing victim services best practice guidance in related fields, such as domestic and sexual violence victim service programs.
NIJ will release a Research Triangle Institute evaluation of the FY 2009 OVC Services to Domestic Minor
Victims of Human Trafficking grants, which identifies promising practices in developing programs for
trafficked youth.
OVC will publish a survivor-created guide on developing culturally competent services for commercially sexually exploited and trafficked girls and young women.
ACF will assess and disseminate analysis of the impact, strengths, and challenges of pilot programs on human trafficking within the runaway and homeless youth program.
IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF EVALUATIONS AND IMPLEMENT MEASURES TO TRACK THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OUTCOMES OF VICTIMS
Service providers have primary access to the information and data indicating program effectiveness. Federal agencies are committed to planning future outcome evaluations that will provide the baseline data and structure to be used for more rigorous evaluation efforts.
OVC and ACF will convene a group of human trafficking victim service providers with the aim of identifying several performance measures that are commonly and effectively used to measure victim service outcomes.
OVC and ACF will work with NIJ to explore ways to develop technical assistance guides, tools, and templates for adaptation by a variety of human trafficking victim service providers to improve the effectiveness of their evaluation efforts.
Objective 10: Support survivors in attaining health and independence through high-quality
services that are effective at meeting their needs
PROMOTE VICTIM-CENTERED LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Law enforcement agencies are critical partners in anti-human trafficking efforts. Their ability to effectively identify victims and prosecute offenders is dependent on their capacity to connect with and support victims. Federal agencies are committed to collaboratively supporting law enforcement with improved and expanded training and technical assistance.
ACF, DHS, and DOJ will coordinate and streamline efforts to use victim assistance law enforcement specialists to help connect victims to appropriate services, including housing, medical and mental health support, and legal representation, including immigration assistance.
Federal agencies will collaborate to expand the use and effectiveness of training for forensic interviews.
o OJJDP, in collaboration with ACF, DHS, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, will develop and deliver a curriculum on how to conduct forensic interviews with child victims of commercial sexual exploitation, including child victims of sex trafficking.
o DHS will explore the feasibility of increasing the number of forensic interviewers who can conduct legally defensible, victim sensitive, developmentally and culturally appropriate investigative interviews with victims of all ages and special populations.
PROMOTE IMPROVED MEDICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES
Human trafficking survivors present a range of medical needs, both short and long term. Stakeholders are, and will continue to be, engaged in providing feedback on the needs of survivors, gaps in services, and prioritization of efforts. Federal agencies will provide training and technical assistance to promote improved medical and mental health outcomes for victims of human trafficking.
ACF and SAMHSA will provide a series of recommendations on mental health needs of victims following up from the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation’s 2008 National Symposium on the Health Needs of Human Trafficking Victims.
ACF will form a national task force of medical and health care professionals, including physicians, nurses, and community health practitioners, to identify opportunities for increased training and collaboration to better identify and serve victims within targeted health systems. ACF will explore the development of standardized medical and health care protocols for intake (increased focus on medical history and past intimate partner violence), evaluation/examination, referrals, evidence collection, and long-term care (physical, oral, and mental) in human trafficking situations. ACF will then provide recommendations for training on identifying victims of human trafficking and how to meet their physical and mental health needs.
HHS will provide guidance on addressing major gaps in medical treatment and services for victims of human trafficking, as well as sensitivity and cultural competency training to decrease stigma associated with human trafficking. HHS will also explore the possibility and process of expanding hospital codes, such as International Classification of Diseases 10 or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, to allow for better reflection of cost of care and time spent on these cases. These codes do not currently include an option for human trafficking cases.
ACF, in conjunction with HHS components, will explore possibilities of partnering with social work schools, counseling schools, and related professional associations to increase training for health professionals on meeting the needs of human trafficking victims.
PROMOTE ADOPTION OF TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE PRACTICES
Stakeholders have clearly expressed their interest in the promulgation of uniform standards of care to shape and make consistent the quality of care that is provided for victims of human trafficking. Federal agencies will collaborate to develop and disseminate standards that will provide needed guidance and support to the field.
OVC will update its Achieving Excellence: Model Standards for Serving Victims & Survivors of Crime publication to include human trafficking services.
ACF, DHS, OVC, OVW, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will partner to develop and provide training support in the form of webinars, conference sessions on the impact of trauma and polyvictimization34 on victims, and the need for trauma-informed care to
grantees, law enforcement based victim specialists, and other service providers. Developing additional partnerships will broaden the scope and impact of this effort over time.
ACF will provide guidance on safe and ethical victim outreach practices in coordination with DOJ and DHS.
ACF, in coordination with DOJ and DHS, will identify minimum standards of care required by grant recipients providing services to victims of human trafficking.
ENHANCE FINANCIAL STABILITY AND INDEPENDENCE FOR SURVIVORS
Human trafficking is a crime of opportunity that feeds on poverty. Federal agencies are committed to providing survivors with tools and opportunities for financial stability that will support their long-term independence.
Federal agencies will collaborate to identify and share promising practices in employment and training services.
o ACF, DOL, and OVC will develop and participate in an informal network of grantee
organizations, local and state workforce investment boards, and stakeholder groups around the issue of employment and training services for victims of trafficking. The network will share information about available services and identify promising practices.
o ACF and DOL will explore public-private partnerships with businesses and industries that can provide education on marketable skills for survivors of human trafficking and otherwise incentivize adoption of promising practices that increase victims’ financial stability.
Federal agencies will begin highlighting innovative workforce development and financial sustainability programs and provide training and technical assistance to their stakeholders.
o ACF will examine the results of a 2-year pilot program that is providing human trafficking victims with pre-employment services prior to certification in order to inform future policy or program changes.
o ACF will explore possibilities to engage its Assets for Independence Program to provide support for survivors of human trafficking.
o DOL will deliver two webinar trainings to the workforce investment system, highlighting promising practices in employment and training services.
o OVC will provide grantees with training and technical assistance on supporting victims of human trafficking in accessing services needed to attain stability and independence through venues such as conference calls, webinars, or training materials.
34 Polyvictimization refers to having experienced multiple victimizations such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, bullying, and exposure to family violence. The definition emphasizes experiencing different kinds of victimization, rather than multiple episodes of the same kind of victimization. Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R., Hamby S. & Kracke, K. (2009) Children’s Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs.